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The Mississippi Freedom Summer
Basic facts/Overview * Organised in 1964 ** It was run by COFO *** SNCC and CORE worked on the project * It sought to increase black voter registration in Mississippi and throughout the south ** This happened prior to the presidential election in November that year * The project predominantly consisted of white student volunteers from the north ** Mostly from privileged background * America took notice of the Mississippi Freedom Summer when three activists, two of whom where white, were murdered by segregationists who probably were a part of the Ku Klux Klan ** Prior to this the Freedom Summer workers got frequently impeded and bullied by members of the white population in Mississippi How it unfolded Mississippi was targeted because: * Its social and political demographics ** Held one of the most hard-line white supremacist state governments * Highest percentage of black people - 45% ** Black people in Mississippi experienced more beatings, lynchings and racial crime than in any other state * Virtually the poorest of all US states * Low levels of African American voter registration ** 5% of voting-age blacks in the state got registered to cote in 1962 - 16% below national average The workers * The 300 workers arrived in mid-June ** Operated under the most difficult and dangerous circumstances * The police force of Mississippi's capital city of Jackson were prepared to deal with the workers in the same way as the authorities in Birmingham ** '"We are going to see that law and order is maintained - and maintained Mississippi style!" - Governor Johnson ' *** Equipped to meet any disturbances and heavily reinforced with extra shotguns, tear gas and even a tank on standby The school system * It became apparent that the state had spent 82 dollars per white students but only 22 dollars per black student * It became evident that the educational curriculum was controlled ** textbooks praising the southern way of life and ignoring black achievements * CORE, the SNCC and the NAACP established fifty Freedom Schools ** People volunteered as teachers ** The curriculum now included black history and the Civil Rights Movement philosophy ** Aim was to correct the educational imbalance in Mississippi *** Allowing political debate and artistic expression *** Offering key subjects such as mathematics, science and remedial reading * The school promoted courses in acting, public speaking and journalism ** 3 000 students attended *** Three times greater than the anticipated number Consequences * The freedom Summer had undermined the solidarity that existed in the Civil Rights Movement during previous years ** A growing difference between those who agreed with King's ways of integration and non-violence, and those who felt that peaceful protest was not the best way of getting full racial equality and wanted a more radical approach * The registration of around only 1 600 African Americans ** Viewed as a dismalfailure by some while others saw it as a small but vital step towards the democratisation of voting in Mississippi *** MFDP actions ensured that there would never be a completely white delegation at a DemocratiC convention * The Freedom Summer secured enfranchisement for some black people in Mississippi and highlighted their struggle for media worldwide * Many in the Civil Rights Movement began looking for different remedies in solving the persistent problem of African American subordination Formation of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Category:Forms of Protest Category:All things